MV Agusta Bialbero 500-6, Italian Madness !

If we talk about the 6-cylinder engine in the World Grand Prix (MotoGP) event, then Surely our minds will be on the legendary 250cc Honda RC166 or 350cc RC174 with "madness" specifications, as well as a record of his remarkable victory. However, there is other Inline-Six figure that equally phenomenal, and one of them is the MV Agusta 500-6 Bialbero !

MV Agusta 500-6 or often referred to as MV Agusta Bialbero, is one of the MV Agusta Grand Prix Motorcycle that was first introduced in 1957 ago, in the Grand Prix of Nations series Monza Circuit, Italy, which also became the headquarters of this manufacturer.

MV Agusta 6-cylinder engine is a "proof" of a Count Domenico Agusta (Founder MV Agusta), who did not want to lose fame by high-specs bike such as Gilera Rondine-Four & MotoGuzzi Ottocilindri V8... So, They began a large grandprix development in 1956 ago, and the results were introduced at the end of 1957 GP series.



If you all thought that the Honda RC166 & RC174 is the first 6-Cylinder Motorcycle at the Grand Prix event, then it is totally wrong ! MV Agusta Bialbero 500-6 comes first decade earlier (1957) than those two Honda's ! In fact, This Parallel 6-Cylinder engine Motor comes before the glory era of the legendary MV Agusta bike, MV Agusta 500-3, along with super legendary riders such as John Surtees, Mike Hailwood & Giacomo Agostini.


In the design & detail sector, MV Agusta Bialbero 500-6 did not look too different from the other 50's GP bikes. This GP machine is equipped with Dustbin fairing which seems ridiculous, and totally old school, just like MotoGuzzi V8 which will be discuss later. Meanwhile, details are also no less old school. Although armed with six-cylinder 500cc engine, but is still equipped with MV Agusta big Drum Brakes, front - back Telescopic Suspension, as well as Double-Cradle Frame Model.


Looking closely behind the "eccentric" fairing , That's what we looking for this bike ... Yes, as the name suggests, MV Agusta 500-6 equipped with 4-Stroke, 498cc, Inline-Six, DOHC 12-Valves, with traditional engine cooling - Air Cooled. Though still visibly inferior to MotoGuzzi V8 that carries 8-Cylinder plus Liquid-cooling, but it turns out that the motor power is not less flashy !

Yeah, MV Agusta 500-6 Bialbero claimed capable of spewing power of 70 HP @ 15,000 RPM ! A very surprising power output result for the motorcycle that comes almost 6 decades ago.

And This is the Completely Specifications of  MV Agusta 500-6 Bialbero :


Manufacturer : MV Agusta Motor SpA

Model : 500-6 (Bialbero 500-6C)

Year : 1957 - 1959

Class : WorldGP


Engine : 4-Stroke, Inline-Six, DOHC 12-Valve (2 Valves per cylinder), Air Cooled, Gear-Driven Camshaft

Bore x Stroke : 48 x 46 mm

Cylinder capacity : 498 cc

Compression ratio : 10.8: 1

Fuel Supply  : 6 x Carburetor Dell'Orto SS26A

Transmission : 6-Speed

Maximum Power : 70 HP @ 15,000 RPM

Top Speed : 240 Km / h (GP Monza, Italy)


Dimensions L x W x H: 1,950 x 530 x - mm

Wheelbase : 1,310 mm

Fuel tank capacity : 22 Liter

Dry weight : 145 kg


Frame : Steel - Double Cradle Frame

Front Brakes : Drum Brake

Rear brakes: Drum Brake

Front tires: 3.00 - 18 Inch

Rear tires: 3.50 - 18 Inch

Buying Your First Motorcycle : Minimizing Maintenance Costs

Your choice of a bike can determine how much maintenance you’ll need to do. Sometimes engineers design motorcycles with certain high-maintenance features to increase the performance of a bike, but more often than not, features that make a motorcycle easier (and cheaper) to maintain are excluded just to save production costs.

If you’re after extremely high performance, you’ll have to accept the fact that you’ll have to spend more money on maintenance, but if you’re willing to accept a slightly lower level of performance, there are features you can look for and riding habits you can practice that will help you keep maintenance costs down.

Three elements in particular will affect your maintenance costs : the shaft drive, the centerstand, and the valves.


Read More : Buying Your First Motorcycle : Where to Buy Your Bike ?

Getting Shafted

Select a bike with a shaft drive. Chain maintenance is the most frequent procedure you’ll need to perform on your bike. It’s also the dirtiest.

Sporty bikes will usually have a chain, since chains tend to disrupt handling less than shafts. If you want such a bike, you’ll usually have to accept a chain as part of the package. But there has been a trend in recent years to use chains on types of bikes that, by nature, aren’t the best in handling, such as mid-sized cruisers. This is purely a cost-cutting measure on the part of the manufacturers. If you want to buy a mid-sized Japanese cruiser, my advice is to get an older, used one, since these usually have shaft drives.

Another option is to select a bike with a belt-drive system. These can be a good compromise between the handling benefits of a chain and the maintenance benefits of a shaft. Belt-drive systems, like the one used by Harley-Davidson, require less maintenance than chains, but more than shafts. The main drawback of Harley’s belt-drive system is that fixing one can be an expensive proposition.


Read More : Buying Your First Motorcycle : What to Look For ?

The Benefits of a Centerstand

Make certain your bike comes equipped with a centerstand. Until recently, all Japanese bikes came with centerstands - it was one of the things that set them apart from Harley-Davidsons, which have never been equipped with modern centerstands.

In the 1980s, Japanese manufacturers began excluding centerstands from ultra-highperformance sportbikes, because the designs of the exhaust systems used in those bikes prohibited the mounting of centerstands, and also because centerstands hindered cornering clearance.

But in the past few years, they’ve also begun excluding them from bikes that already have limited cornering clearance, like cruisers. This is another cost-cutting measure. Combine lack of a centerstand with a chain drive, and I guarantee you will create new expletives while maintaining your bike.


Read More : Buying Your First Motorcycle : What’s It Worth ?

Hydraulically Adjusted Valves

One of the costliest aspects of maintaining a motorcycle is adjusting the amount the valves move up and down.

This is a critical (and often neglected) part of motorcycle maintenance, because if the valve doesn’t move down far enough during the combustion cycle, it can get bent and destroy the valve train. If the valve moves down too far, it can hit the top of the piston, destroying the entire top end.

It is also an expensive part of motorcycle maintenance. On most modern motorcycles, valve adjustment is too complex a job for an inexperienced mechanic to tackle alone. Most riders take their bikes into shops to have the procedure performed. If the motorcycle has any body work which the mechanic has to remove to gain access to the valves, or if the motorcycle is constructed in a way that requires the mechanic to go to heroic lengths to gain access to the valves, the mechanic will also have to spend even more time adjusting the valves.

And to a mechanic, time is money. Shops often charge $50 per hour for a mechanic’s time. On a multi-cylinder bike with body work, a mechanic can take several hours to adjust the valves. Valve adjustments seldom cost less then $100, and on certain complex machines, can run as high as $250. Remember, this is a procedure you’ll have to have performed at least once every year (even more, if you ride a lot). But there is a way to avoid this expensive bit of maintenance. Back in the early 1980s, Honda introduced several motorcycle models that had overhead-cam engines with hydraulically adjusted valves. Suzuki and Kawasaki followed suit, introducing cruisers with similar systems. All new Harleys come with hydraulically adjusted valves.

While such systems slightly limited the performance of the motorcycles using them, they also completely eliminated the costs associated with valve adjustments. And for most motorcyclists, the performance limitations of hydraulically operated valves were academic, coming into play only at extremely high RPMs. In the real world, motorcyclists seldom ride at such extreme speeds. If at all possible, select a bike with maintenancefree, hydraulically adjusted valves. This will decrease performance a bit, but that will only be an issue on bikes that demand ultrahigh performance. On cruisers and standards, the difference won’t be noticeable, and you’ll save hundreds of dollars each year on maintenance costs.

Honda CBX 1000, One of Soichiro Honda's Masterpieces

Honda CBX 1000 6 Cylinder was a Legendary Bike from the Big Japanese firm. First introduced in 1978 and then, discontinue in 1982. This classic japanese motorcycles was developed when four Japanese manufacturers are competing to create the Superbike that is really "Superclass Bike".

At that time, as chairman, Soichiro Honda, Decides to select the Parallel-Inline 6 cylinder engine, which will be used in the CBX - compared with other options namely Inline 4-cylinder 1000cc or 1200cc. Soichiro actually is already familiar with a 6 cylinder engine. At the 60's, He also had to make a far more devastating masterpiece, Honda RC166 250cc six-cylinder, that once drove Mike "The Bike" Hailwood became 250cc World Champion.


But apparently, the CBX development is not without obstacles. The most confusing for Soichiro Honda is how to put the 1047cc six cylinder inline engine with a width of almost 60 cm to CBX Frame, plus Reduces the jarring sound from very powerful machine, without having to sacrifice comfort and rider's satisfaction.

Finally, with minimizing Crankcase Engineering, Stretches fuel tank design, exhaust & Placement dispensing cylinder block made tilted forward 30 degrees, Make CBX finally ready for launch !

In the Design & Detail, Honda put the various Regulatory Electrical and Ignition reversed / behind the machine to keep reducing the size of the width of the CBX - that is always be a major issue. CBX1000 use the high quality Chromoly Diamond-Frame. In the frame itself, there are 8 Mounting to the engine - 4 on Cylinder Head & 4 other at Gearbox Crankcase.

CBX 1000 using 35mm Telescopic front suspension and Double-Shockbreaker rear suspension - until the third version in 1981, the suspension changed by Pro-Link monoshock the rear.


More about the CBX, This masterpiece is equipped with Parallel-Inline 6 cylinder 1047cc engine, DOHC 24-Valve, 5-Speed Transmission, and also 6 Barrel Keihin VB28mm Carburetors. With a compression ratio of 9.3: 1, Maximum power CBX 1000 reaches 103 HP and accelerates 402 m in a time of 11.6 seconds with a maximum speed of 189 Km/h (118 mph). Real Top Speed of the CBX reaching 216 Km/h (135mph) !

No wonder then, Honda claimed CBX 1000 is Fastest, High-Tech, Futuristic & Most Powerful Motorcycle in his era.

And Here is Complete Specifications of Honda CBX1000 :

Manufacturer : Honda Motor Company
Model : CBX1000
Year : 1978 - 1982

Engine : 4-Stroke, Air Cooled, Inline 6 cylinder, DOHC, 24-Valve
Bore x Stroke : 64.5 x 53.4 mm
Cylinder capacity : 1.047 cc
Compression Ratio : 9.3: 1
Fuel supplies : 6 x Carburetor Keihin VB28
Maximum Power : 103 HP @ 9000 rpm
Maximum Torque: 85 N.m @ 8000 rpm
Transmission : 5-Speed
Top Speed : 215 Km/h (135 mph)

Frame : Chromoly Steel - Diamond Frame
Front Suspension : 35mm Telescopic Fork
Rear Suspension : (1978 - '80) FVQ Dual Shockbreaker, (1981 - '82) Pro-Link monoshock
Brakes Front : Dual 276mm Disc
Brakes Rear : Single 296mm Disc
Front tires : 3.50 - 19
Rear tires : 4:25 - 19
Fuel tank capacity : 20 Liter
Empty weight: 249 kg